Contrary to a popular opinion present today due to propaganda - that only BR brought all grAmaththu business to TF & got ably supported by VM / without those two TN wouldn't have had "maN vAsanai" / Madurai is a mottai gOpuram etc - it was IR who had single-handedly celebrated TN FOLK in TFM!

Right from annakkiLi which was 1.5 years prior to 16V!

He had done it with or without BR (and obviously mostly without help from VM).

In the course of this thread, we'll catch all those non-BR village songs with terrific pAdal varigaL, as well as "BR-but-no-VM" village songs with nice pAdal varigaL! (I've done some of that in the GA thread but we have opportunity to include every lyricist here)!

பாட்டு இங்கே - பூவிழி வாசலிலே. This song is mostly known for its mood, mesmerizing tune, orchestration and aNNan Malaysia :)Not known for lyrics at all (mostly the case in Raja's songs as music takes over the lyrics). If we casually hear the lines, they are nothing extra-ordinary, provides the required dynamics the tune expects. Lyrics by kaamakOdiyan. It rightly brings the mood of dance and music in the pallavi. The usual erotic stuff in 'இன்னிசையாய் மெல்ல நீ சேர தேனுடன் பாலும் பூவுடன் மோத'. Nothing special, but not bad at all.

The first charaNam nicely brings the club mood with perfect lyrics on why people usually go to the bar. Wonderful play of words, but again nothing extra-ordinary. The second interlude female chorus is icing on the cake to build the mood still more. Second charaNam is the moment. It has full of metaphors and analogies. Totally ecstatic. One of the best line not just in a club song is here; அசையும் அசைவுகள் இசையின் நிழல் அமைதி திருவிழி இறைவன் மடல். I never expected lyrics of this quality in this kind of song. Lyricist explains the dancers (dance) moves to the shadow of music as they dance to the music. What a brilliant thought this is! He also expresses their 'calming' eyes as the letter from God; அமைதி திருவிழி இறைவன் மடல், as our fate is decided by his laws and we dance to our fate written by God, the same way we get engrossed in the dancers looks. Wow! What an imagination! He continues his imagination beautifully in the rest of the charaNam lines too!

The purpose of a song in a film is to service an emotion at that point or to drive the story forward. When it services an emotion, elevating the viewing experiencing by excelling in the music composition is something a director would be grateful if a composer can pull it off. By that mark, Enna Samayalo is a song which elevates the viewing experience with quite some class. Of course, there is Kamal, Manorama and KB. But taken separately also, the song will be a masterclass. But even while putting it within the context of the situation, the fact that it comes up trumps and to use the word, is very ஜனரஞ்சகம், is a credit to the composing skills of Ilayaraaja. The composition is the real deal here. Not the picturization or the actors. In fact, picturizing the song seems more an excuse to air this song. Lyrics by Ilayaraaja.

I mentioned the song is a masterclass. Why so? It is one of its kinds in the music world. Yes, not just in cinema, but in music. It is a Ragamalika, i.e. more than a raaga in one song (which is not very novel and not the main point but is more incidental). The film’s original was Rudraveena in Telugu which got Raaja a national award. This song though is absent from the original and it’s possible to see why. Raaja composed this song nearly a decade back for the unreleased Manipur Mamiyaar as Samayal Padame. That was also written by Raaja. He merely reused with most of the lyrics here with mild alterations to suit this situation.

The sister-in-law kicks off the interest here (the hero and his sister just set things up till then) with “adiye, Mohanam” and the ragam is Mohanam. The sound created by the synth (?) to mimic the oodhu kuzhal (while staying true to Mohanam) as the sister coughs in front of the fire is wow detailing (with film music, you travel with the surroundings and re-create the sound, something you don’t have to do for classical music since it is on stage and conveys a song, its meaning and the associated bhAvam. That way, film music, where the musician travels with the visuals is a challenge in itself). And what does one say about Chitra’s coughing which fills in the thALam! It is all a part of the same composition! The Nadhaswaram carries the Mohanam onto Kalyani, beautifully underlined by the following lyrics, “Kalyani… Kal… Aani…” each being separate words (SPB’s shhh… aaNi is worth noting. The shhh also fills in the thALam and is a part of the composition). Pun for us in the lyrics with the song travelling for the visuals!

But what follows knocks the breath off because he brings in something even classical musicians find difficult to compose called Swaraksharam, i.e. the swaram and the aksharam, the lyrics, will be the same. With “Gari Gari Gari Karikaaigalum enge, kariveppilai enge” and “Ma ma ma ma ma manjal podiyum enge? Masala podi enge” he introduces us to swaraksharam. Ma is the swaram and also comes with Manjal and Masala (where Ma is also the swaram in those words). It goes on to “dha ni dha ni dha ni dha ni dhaniya irukka?” and on to “ni ni ni… poruni… gavani” where dha and ni are the swaras.

The song is just replete with such detail that it rivals any classical composition in its complexity (lyrical and musical, for it is a proper Ragamalika with 4 Ragas, making it an eminently appreciable composition as such) and yet is enjoyable for the common man with the lyrics being pretty down to earth (often silly, like "Saadhamaaga thaamadhamaa?" but there is stuff beneath the surface which is precisely the depth we speak about and also, the words even otherwise fit the sandham well and sit beautifully in the tune; irukkAdhApinna? tune, lyrics reNdum oNNu dhAnE inga nowhere do you see the marriage of words and tune with a sonic flourish better than in a swaraksharam because the lyrics and tune are one and the same) and tasty (literally) yet quite rich in depth.

Indeed, a song where the swaras in each of the raagas employed come to aid the lyrics while singing that particular raaga (imagine the subtlety involved) without compromising the actual raga and the surrounding visual noise of rice boiling to the singers’ coughing and flinching organically forming a part of this song warrants this as a compelling masterclass. And to think one man both wrote and composed this. And to think this wasn’t even the song of the film. Proves. Why. Raaja. Is. God. Compelling add on here.

I'm thrilled the way this thread is going - though we've set a numerical target, the purpose is not to list thru in a rush. We rather want to dwell on the brilliant lines penned by various lyricists under rAsA's baton and relish, while dispelling any quality-related myth and proving to the world that his songs are no less to anything that came after

Interestingly, it helps me in another way too (need not rush thru collecting data into excel amidst the crowded days at present, I can do ArAm sE )

DM,Brilliantly dissected intha paattellaam vEra yaaraalayum compose paNNa mudiyaathu. This is not just a song, our daily life is imparted in it combined with clever notes and word play. As I said many times, the versatility in the mood and emotions which tamil film music is famous for, is coming down to just one or two nowadays. Many such fun and thought provoking songs are no more composed. It is surprising none is interested in the versatility nowadays and contended with whatever current music directors give and go sky praise for such mediocre stuff. That's the order of the day.

_________________Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth - Pablo Picasso

Another song from the same film Poovizhi VaasalilE (1987). The song which disturbed me a lot. Every line is a gem. Lyrics by Muthulingam. Muthulingam conveys the agony of the kid beautifully in 'தப்பி வந்த சிப்பி முத்தே உன்னைப் பெற்ற தாய் யாரு'. From the lyrics we can feel for the kid. He conveys everything about the kid and also adds the impact the man has who takes care of the kid.கண்ணில் உன்னைக் காணும்போது எண்ணம் எங்கோ போகுதைய்யாஎன்னை விட்டுப் போன பிள்ளை இங்கே உந்தன் கோலம் கொண்டுவந்ததென்று எண்ணுகின்றேன் வாழ்த்து சொல்லி பாடுகின்றேன்

The pinnacle moment of the song is when lyricist conveys the kid's sorrow in just two lines;இது பேசா ஓவியம்இதில் சோகம் ஆயிரம் ( )

The song concludes beautifully without 'hanging in the air' lines.என் வாழ்வில் நிம்மதி அது உந்தன் சன்னதி

The song itself is a nice poem, with the girl fancying herself to be a fruit (or a bunch of fruits) and imagining the boy to be a parrot. It's an yearning song, asking "the parrot to take advantage of the fruit" in a metaphorical manner. Both in pallavi & in a saraNam, the girl uses this method :

In addition, the song gets into one main country-side cultural reference as well (of women using turmeric, this common practice among middle-class and below people of TN is often made fun of by Keralites...OTOH, in TN, there are a lot of things attributed to turmeric usage...well, that is a topic for another post in detail, but here let us just mention that the girl believes it to enhance her beauty and make her attractive to the boy):

The song was a patti-thotti hit during its arrival. Not just the first line of the song, even the movie's name itself is a testimony of IR as a trend setter those days.

Yes, following the big success of annakkiLi, there was kavikkuyil, chittukkuruvi, pAlootti vaLarththa kiLi kind of movie names one after another. Also songs that started in similar style, like this mAmarakkiLi, Ala maraththukkiLi, kuyilE kavikkuyilE kinds

How about this by Vaali? Simple, but powerful lines beautifully capturing the euphoria of an artist whose dreams are fulfilled. No nonsensical stuff, no contrived phrases. VM has definitely made me acquire a keen appreciation for the absence of these elements.

Another very excellent song. Will find a place in my top 25 Raaja songs of all time. Innum Ennai Enna Seyya Pogiraai. Have written about this too in my blog. The lyrics is ilai marai kaai excellence which the lyricist, err RV Udhayakumar (I mean, who'd have thought?!), writes wonderfully.

The charanam is the real deal. thALam is set to kaNdam (beat of 5, i.e. tha ka tha ki ta making it 5 sols or phrases). The vocals follow the thALa pattern obediently from “paadi varum vAnmadhiyE” to mOga pari pooraNiyE”. But when S Janaki starts with “poovOdu dhAn sEra iLam kAtru pOrAdum pOdhu”, the vocals digress to a beat of chathusram (beat of 4, i.e. tha ka dhi mi making it just 4 phrases) but the thALa pattern in the background remains kaNdam, i.e. 5. He is moving away from nature. The song will not come back to samam, i.e. equilibrium when the charanam ends if the vocal tune follows a beat of 4 but the actual thALam runs to a beat of 5. He however brings it to samam with the podi sangathis at “podhuuuu…” (in “poovOdu dhAn sEra iLam kAtru pOrAdum pOdhu”) and “poduuu…” at the end of Janaki’s 2 lines where the vocals go to chathusram and the lyricist on cue goes “sErAmal theerAdhu idam pArthu theermAnam pOdu…” as if asking the composer to follow nature and take the song back to equilibrium (theermAnam pOdu). A marriage of lyrics and music of this quality obviously results in the song being the wonderbar it is.

Even when music is the focal point of many of us w.r.t films, at some point all of us will have to agree with the likes of P_R (that a movie is mainly story-telling). That way, one main responsibility of a poet engaged in a movie project is to get the main theme of the movie inside the songs, in as few words as possible.

Vaali is acclaimed for such ability as one can read from various accounts that got published at the time of his death. One of them became well-known to super singer program watchers thanks to Gopi. (That of Vaali summarizing silappadhikAram in just 4 words poetically : புகாரில் பிறந்தான், புகாரில் இறந்தான். Gopi, however, became gObi masAlA when he tried to explain it, sodhappifying as "கண்ணகியின் புகாரில்" )

நிழல்கள் is quite a poetic title! I wonder if that was the idea of the writer of the movie (Manivannan, that brilliant, well-read fellow) and not of the director. The conceptualization of all 5 characters (all of them depicted on the vinyl cover) got nicely centered around that title. If it was in the hands of someone like Adoor G, Aravindhan, MTV/Hariharan or even Balu M, we would have got a terrific arthouse product. OTOH, it fell in the hands of a commercial compromise fellow BR, very shabbily implemented on screen, got publicized improperly ("story of unemployed youths" nonsense) and made to compete with Kamal's VNS - only to be beaten out of shape

Despite all that fantastic effort by technicians / team members that topped with a grand IR album / score, it became a dud in the eyes of both serious movie watchers and common public because of the lack of vision / skills of the team lead, BR, who had severe limitations. In addition, he hired actors of severe limitations who couldn't do justice to the poetic characters written.

Regardless, Vaali captured the essence of நிழல்கள் so beautifully in those two lines I quoted above!

Aren't நிழல்கள் translated "shadows"? In a sense, yes! However, there is much more to it as well-brought-out in the song. Looking from the PoV of each main character, it could be rendered as any of the following:

so near yet so farmirageexpectations unfulfilledneeds not metdreams unrealizedஎட்டாத கனிதொட முடியாத வானம்

Still, the objectives weren't that "out of reach"...they all appeared so close, real, obtainable, achievable and yet...yet...yet...in each case, it became elusive.

Like the shadows of the mountain, or the shadows of the cloud. One can see, hide under, go near - yet the real thing is not anywhere near. Not reachable! It's just optical illusion!

Like the photographs of the favourite star (remember, they use the term "நிழற்படம்"). All that one can get close to are those pictures - never can touch, feel the real person.

Like the images on screen that are essentially "நிழல்கள்" of pictures on a transparent film - when powerful light passes thru. One can see, feel close / get attached / moved / affected, why even innermost emotions stirred strong by them, but...but then, they are never real

Now apply the situation of all the central characters of the movie to the two lines of Vaali in this song :

நேற்றென் அரங்கிலே நிழல்களின் நாடகம்

Each one feels some objective is reachable (job, love, career etc), even thinks it is very close - like a mirage, like a screen image, like a shadow. There's confusion as to will they really reach the real thing, however.

Then comes the closest moment(s) of elation :

இன்றென் எதிரிலே நிஜங்களின் தரிசனம்

Alas, in each case, it finally proves to be not a நிஜம் but only a நிழல்

Well, while the movie didn't prove to be the poem it was originally intended to be, at the minimum, rAsA-Vaali team did complete justice in this awesome song!

Wonderful writeup App on Nizhalgal. Never thought of the word Nizhalgal to depict all those different meanings that you mentioned. Coming to the movie, I still cannot forget that ominous background score played out when Rajasekar runs in slow mo on the beach conveying his unrealized dream or etta kani. Have to watch the movie yet another time atleast for the score.

One more thing, I want "responsible" IRFs to run a twitter series for IR's non-tablA songs and have the tweets posted into a new thread, to adequately cover the nonsense tablA-rAjA myth...let me open the thread and also initiate a "relay-tweets" in twitter.com

Hope to get the twitters contribute with 100's of tweet relays which I'll collect and deposit in the thread (I'm not sure if V_Sji can do some magic to automate the tweet-collection into that thread, like they do in the hub, which would be a nice-to-have)

காதல் மகராணி கவிதை பூ விரித்தாள் - காதல் பரிசு. This is the song I like the most in this film. Before touching the lyrics part I totally love the way the charaNam starts step by step with short phrases (பூவை நீ பூமடல், பூவுடல் தேன்கடல்), then a long phrase (தேன்கடலில் தினமே குளித்தால் மகிழ்வேன்), then again followed by the short phrase keeps us guessing all the time, what would be next. Maestro finishes brilliantly with இன்பம் கோடி ஊஞ்சலாடும் உள்ளம் போகும் ஊர்வலம் when one expects he would finish jumping to higher octaves to catch the pallavi phrase 'காதல்' while he kind of descends with உள்ளம் போகும் ஊர்வலம் teasing us heavily.

For 'orchestra ignorants' where they claim brass is gone by early 80s, this film was in 1987 and this song is full of brass section. For 'tabla ignorants', this song does not use tabla at all. For 'non-VM detractors' this song is by Muthulingam and has excellent lyrics way way better than ஏய் உன்னை தானே by VM from the same film. This songs hits three mangoes in one stone (shot).

The best part of the lyrics is right in the starting lines itself. Lyricist brings in a beautiful phrase 'கவிதை பூ விரித்தாள்'. He further explains the impact of this kavithai in the second line; புது கவிதை பூ விரித்து கனவில் தேன் தெளித்தாள். He adds the word 'புது' nicely there.

If this is not enough, here comes the cracker of a line; He says, he sees a sparkling beautiful painting through the glowing light of her face, which makes him believe that it is day not night. என்ன ஒரு அதீத கற்பனை!உன் முக தீபத்தில் ஓவியம் மின்னுதே உன் அழகால் இரவை பகலாய் அறிந்தேன்

The last line is again a great finisher! They want to enjoy everything in the world and also search/explore the celestial heaven in the earth itself. Super stuff!மண்ணில் உள்ள இன்பம் யாவும் இங்கே இன்று நாமும் காண்போம்அன்பே அந்த தேவலோக சொர்க்கம் இங்கே தேடுவோம்

Finally, lyrics does not contain embarrassing words. Great love song, written with composure with no extravagant stuff.

Recently, somebody posted a youtube link on twitter which was an old news video when the film field felicitated MGR for his "Doctor pattam". It briefly captures IR singing on a stage (with Gangai Amaran conducting orchestra)...the song is nothing but "அமுதே தமிழே அழகிய மொழியே எனதுயிரே" (The video also shows a stage with MV singing a song with (Shankar) Ganesh conducting orchestra, praising MGR as indhiran-chandhiran-etc.)

Need to talk about another song from 'iLamai oonjalAdukiRadhu' ; this song is on repeat in car...

ஒரே நாள் உனை நான் நிலாவில் பார்த்தது

Like I said in the 'kiNNaththil thEn vadiththu' post, the movie name itself is somewhat poetic, though I never peered into what it exactly meant.

Now that this song's pallavi too has the same phrase, it's time to decipher

The first line gets one set up in a nice, sweet, romantic environment. (ஒரே நாள் உனை நான் நிலாவில் பார்த்தது). There's similarity to another famous SPB song of prior years - "உன்னை நான் பார்த்தது வெண்ணிலா வேளையில்".

The next line is of intrigue : உலாவும் உன் இளமை தான் ஊஞ்சல் ஆடுது

Both the male and female sing this line and it's not difficult to conclude that the word "இளமை" includes all, mainly the physical beauty / features and then everything else that goes with youth. The reason I conclude physical is the main thing is because of the key word "உலாவும்", which means discernible to the onlookers. And something that makes strong impact / sensation / thuLLal inside their hearts!

That way, the 'ஊஞ்சல் ஆடுது' term has to describe the swings in the heart & mind of the person of opposite gender - in this case the associate / lover, when he/she happens to watch the other person's physical features விழியில் விழுந்து இதயம் ஆட்டல்

BTW, the rest of the song is sweettO sweet! Not a single irritable portion / shocking term etc. I guess that happened in many Vaali romance songs where he lets the listener enjoy it like the way one enjoys smoothie.

i.e. Unlike VM who pushes some negativity, shock thingy - either for the heck of it or by his nature or carefully done to thuruththify as his signature (vaRaNda sahArA reference in sahAnA sARal, kuruvi kattum koottukkuLLa gundu vaiththal, poovukkuL bhoogambam uNdAkkudhal and such are his favourite things).

That way, the song is something that can be relished like an ice-cream. Short saraNams but each of them can get one into really romantic mood!

Here the male mildly tends to get into self-pity mode, by talking about "கற்பனைகளில் சுகம்" but the girl quickly corrects him, asking "மயக்கமென்ன" - which can be interpreted either way (one of self-pity or one of romance) and reassures him that she is willingly ready

Vaali jumps back to total-enjoyment mode in the third saraNam again, using music as metaphor for intimacy ("பஞ்சணைப் பாடல்"):

Someone might object it's not two but four eyes and hands but that is poetic freedom...also, the number two there can also mean "pairs". Or it could even mean that they have both merged into one person and effectively only two eyes / hands.

Well, overall, nice lines penned by Vaali - even though they aren't as awesome as IR's score for the song. The awesomeness of music made people like me not look at the lines much, as in the case of many other songs

That wasn't the mistake of the lyricist - in fact, it was good in a way that it didn't hinder listeners getting absorbed into some top-class music!

App ji,Delightful and pleasing write-up on one of the most romantic song in IFM. Lovely lyrics. I still remember when I straight-away liked the song (watched in DD) during my first listen. That was the first time I was heared guitar so clearly, not knowing that was guitar, some new sounds and new voices, and beautifully picturized too. Totally into the song. After 36 years, we are still discussing the song.

_________________Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth - Pablo Picasso

For people from rest of TN / Kerala, this "ஆக்கும் / ஆக்கும்" business is possibly sarcasm, kiNdal. OTOH, that's just a harmless suffix in the Palakkadan Thamizh (Recall Nagesh / Avinashi making fun of Kameswaran Kamal in MMKR).

I can't say what the girl really means in this song - as a statement or kiNdal BTW.

Also, if one looks at the situation of the song, the boy wants to have "matRadhu" with the girl (i.e. not satisfied with other intimacies that include hugs, kisses, dancing around etc). But the girl says "only after marriage" and continues, like, "will I refuse anything after that?" :

Looking as a simple song may not put naughty thoughts in one's mind (because comparing lips to lotus petals and saliva to honey are as old as TFM) but when one considers the filmy situation and that the movie itself was adult themed, there is definite Vaalibak kuRumbu

However, the trick is to keep it unknown to school kids (like me & classmates when the song came out) but make sure those vayadhukku vandhavargaL get a kick out of it

The song is very intriguing. When Vaali sir used the words; எண்ணித்தான், கண்ணத்தான், வாழத்தான், சேரத்தான் he not only used for rhythmic sounding or for aesthetics. There is a big word hidden inside these words. That is ‘அத்தான்’ which the girl lover addresses indirectly her lover. I always used to hear only அத்தான் in those words. That’s the brilliance of Vaali.

I believe this is the first song where every line of charaNam is repeated twice;ஆவாரம்பூவு அதுக்கொரு நோவுஉன்ன நெனச்சு உசிருருக்குஆவாரம்பூவு அதுக்கொரு நோவுஉன்ன நெனச்சு உசிருருக்குஆகாயம் பூமி ஆண்டவன் சாட்சிஆகாயம் பூமி ஆண்டவன் சாட்சிபூத்தது வாடுது நீ வரத்தான்

If those lines are not repeated or any other words put for those repetitive lines, the soul is lost. Because there is a need to stress those lines again and again to reach the lover. What a finishing line in பூத்தது வாடுது நீ வரத்தான்! He wrote a big theme in just four words. I love the word ‘நோவு’, very rarely used in tamil film music.

Gem of a melody which underlines the separation, longing but how convincingly and positively Vaali finishes withபாத்தாளே ஆத்தா மனக்குறத் தீத்தாகெடச்சது மாலையும் மஞ்சளும்தான்

All the credit to Maestro for flowering such a heavenly melody, rooted in our tradition. The chorus is the biggest strength serving as the messengers of love from her to him. Even if we listen to this melody all day long, it will not be enough, as Maestro has weaved his soul in every note and made sure that it transforms to our own souls so that we get life every day through his music. ஜென்ம சாபல்யம்!

_________________Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth - Pablo Picasso